Merlin's Cave
According to Arthurian Legend, Merlin lived in a cave below the fortress of Tintagel during Arthur's childhood, and was his teacher. Tennyson made Merlin's Cave famous in his Idylls of King Arthur, describing waves washing infant Arthur to the shore, and Merlin finding him in a sea cave and carrying him to safety.
The cave is 100 metres long and passes completely through the island beneath the castle, where the sea has eroded a fault containing a band of softer rock. At high tide, the cave is flooded (so one can assume Merlin was a good swimmer!), but at low tide you can walk through from Tintagel Haven to the rocky West Cove on the other side.
On walks
- Boscastle to Tintagel (via bus) (5.5 mile walk)
- Port Isaac to Tintagel (9.7 mile walk)
- Tintagel to Bossiney (2.7 mile walk)
- Tintagel, Church and Castle (2.4 mile walk)
- Tintagel to Rocky Valley (3.8 mile walk)